Are our Slants "Unsafe"?

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Just my two cents; but one person hits a wall at 40 and dies some hit it at 80 and live. Call it Grace, luck, miracle. Its sad but thats life in cars. I got hit by two cars and a semi in a toyota corrolla and lived yet had a year of therepy and still have problems. Got rearended in an old Fairmount at 55mph while i was parked and just sore for a day. Both times had seat belt on. I wear them because iam (my body) still going 70 mph regardless of whats around me. I drive my classic like a cycle and a newer commuter so i can live and vent my opinion on the internet.
" I still would rather drive detroit steel the chinese plastic"
 
Thats the way i felt glad you lived and sorry that a you lost your car. Looks like even the passenger would of been fine; sore but alive. The Abody did what it was supposed to.
 
Can a mod please lock this thread and let it die like it should have 2 months ago.

And please drive safe in whatever you drive.
 
Unfortunately I can't agree with you any less, Mcnoople. There's obviously enough interest in the topic and the thread that people continue to post on it.

It's a worthwhile topic of discussion even though I think the bed wetting handwringing nannies out there need to dial it back on worrying about what other people might or might not be doing, eating, driving, saying or thinking.

Sleeper-oem had it right: drive them like you would a motorcycle and be aware that their brakes, steering and response to input is way different than in modern cars. Driving one requires that a driver adapt to the limitations of the vehicle.

My Valiant with non power steering and brakes, while easy enough to drive, does not have the capabilities of a modern vehicle or the quick response times.

As a hardtop it is barely more tight a structure than a convertible. It has seat belts and a metal dashboard. Maintaining an awareness of what you're driving helps compensate for the lack of passive safety devices, but probably not by much.

For all that I have never felt "unsafe" in all the years I have driven it, no matter how paranoid the professional worriers out there get.
 
As a fire fighter paramedic, I am forced to tell you guys the sad truth. Our old cars are not nearly as safe as the newer cars with their crumple zones, airbags, breaks, and shoulder belts. I love these old cars to death, but I drive with the knowledge that if I get in a bad wreck, I'm far more likely to die than a person in an ugly scion. Trust me guys, you wouldn't believe me if I told you the fatalities involved with older classic cars....
 
I got no problem keeping this thread running that is until certain members want to make comments like the one quoted below.

""""""It's a worthwhile topic of discussion even though I think the bed wetting handwringing nannies out there need to dial it back on worrying about what other people might or might not be doing, eating, driving, saying or thinking."""

Unfortunatily it's comments like that that'll get this thread locked as they only attract other argumentative responses and back and forth we go.:sad1:
 
demon seed said:
I got no problem keeping this thread running that is until certain members want to make comments like the one quoted below.

""""""It's a worthwhile topic of discussion even though I think the bed wetting handwringing nannies out there need to dial it back on worrying about what other people might or might not be doing, eating, driving, saying or thinking."""

Unfortunatily it's comments like that that'll get this thread locked as they only attract other argumentative responses and back and forth we go.:sad1:
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That was not in reference to anyone here or any of the comments posted. If that is the way you took it, my apologies.

It has been the general tendency to legislate away anything someone deems unsafe or unappealing to themselves, so therefore no one else should be doing it.

That attitude is out there like it or not. There has been a war on the automobile going on for decades ["Insolent Chariot", "War Against The Automobile"] as well as motorcycles and especially the choice of individuals to drive their own vehicle rather than take public transport.

And you certainly cannot legislate or design passive safety into any vehicle such that every single possible event can be anticipated.

Old cars are not as safe as new cars. Safer than a bike or a motorcycle. New cars not as safe as an SUV nor is an SUV safe against an 18 wheeler.

There will always be a vehicle newer, larger and more crashworthy than yours out there unless of course, the "nannies" decree that all vehicles travel the roads at the same speed and are only available in one size and weight. And of course anything older than 10 years is banned from the road because these vehicles are "unsafe".

It's a doomsday scenario,yes, but witness the food and language police .

As I said:dialing it back and letting common sense dictate what precautions to take, allowing individuals to gauge what their level of risk they want to take in their everyday lives is what my statement was intended to project.

I respect the opinion and choices of the individuals on this site far more than does some professional worrier who has no clue deciding for any of us what we drive, eat, or say.
 
What are people thoughts on vehicles that have intentionally been made more dangerous to other people? You prolly don't know what I mean. Ever see a lifted truck. What happens to a car's crashworthy (regardless of designed in safety) when instead of taking the impact at legislated bumper height the car gets hit at the top of the window frame?

I would like to see some crash tests of new and recently used (2000-2005) cars where the side impact ram is 4 off of the ground at its lowest point. Same test scenario, same test ram just raise it up and let her fly. I bet even some of the 5 star safe side impact cars would look a little less safe.
 
demon seed said:
I got no problem keeping this thread running that is until certain members want to make comments like the one quoted below.

""""""It's a worthwhile topic of discussion even though I think the bed wetting handwringing nannies out there need to dial it back on worrying about what other people might or might not be doing, eating, driving, saying or thinking."""

Unfortunatily it's comments like that that'll get this thread locked as they only attract other argumentative responses and back and forth we go.:sad1:
Click to expand...

Ironic I was the threadstarter of this and my slant saved my life as its forgiving steering was my saving grace from hitting the Jersey Barriers and flipping it.

If I was in a new car, I would've flipped the car into oncomming traffic and surely be dead.
 
Hi, all. I'm new here, but I once worked in auto body design in Detroit, so I thought I'd put my 2 cents in.

This information comes from the 90's, just before they discovered that airbags were causing more injuries and deaths than lives saved, prior to reducing the speed at which an airbag deployed (previously 1/60th of a second). That kind of wallop almost always broke noses, and could kill a baby in a rear facing car seat up front, or even kill a small adult driver. Detroit was forced to put them out before the technology was really ready, by Nader and other advocates accusing the industry of "withholding life-saving technology from the public, in the interest of profits." (And I quote).

This was hogwash, because the airbags were offered as an option by Chrysler in the 70's and no one bought them.

Furthermore, at the time I wrote a paper on this topic in the 90's, it was a scientific fact that "a car that weighed 300 pounds more" than the "then-current" models, on average, was actually safer than a new car with airbags.
However, the government imposed the CAFE standards to improve the average gas mileage over each manufacturer's fleet, and hence, they forced them to produce cars that were lighter, to save gas. This is why air bags became critical. So, an old car, without airbags, is often safer than a comparably-sized new car with airbags.

It is also a fact that an airbag deploys in a fraction of a second, and once the bag is deflated (almost immediately) it offers no further protection. So, without a seat belt, the body becomes a projectile which first travels toward the impact, and then continues to slam back and forth against the interior structures (with almost equal force at first) of the car until the energy is dissipated. This can be several strikes against the hard structures.
Remember, the airbag only protects you from that first strike, so unless you are seat-belted in, you are no longer protected anyway for most of the forces acting on you.

Further, this initial airbag benefit is only really available if you are secured by a lap and shoulder seat belt in the first place. The airbag, even at the safer deployment speeds, is also almost worthless in a rollover situation.

A heavier car, and a seat belt, for me ANYDAY.
IMO the older cars are better in terms of both style AND substance.
BTW what happens to an infant in a car seat when the side bags deploy? I wonder if they still break their little necks like they used to.
Anyone know?
 
cutaway5 said:
Hi, all. I'm new here, but I once worked in auto body design in Detroit, so I thought I'd put my 2 cents in.
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You are supposed to have a lap and shoulder belt on even if your car has airbags. Airbags are not a substitute.

Most of your post is false and it is clear you do not know much about modern car design and how it relates to passenger safety.
 
ValiantBandit said:
Ironic I was the threadstarter of this and my slant saved my life as its forgiving steering was my saving grace from hitting the Jersey Barriers and flipping it.

If I was in a new car, I would've flipped the car into oncomming traffic and surely be dead.
Click to expand...
The entire Baby Boom Generation was raised in cars like our Slants: unbelted, unabsed, unbagged unsensored and survived. Cars just like ours drove billions of miles carrying people of all ages mostly without incident.

According to Govt. Stats the death rate on the roads had been trending downward. Every decade since the 20s, simply due to the improvements in each succeeding generation of cars.

At some point we reach the law of diminishing returns where eventually the new vehicle will be so "safe" and so expensive the masses will be priced out of the market. Which would make a certain element of society giddy with happiness.

You raised a legitimate question. Just being aware of the limitations of our vehicles makes a great stride toward being safe in our driving a 60s era vehicle. Someone already suggested he drove his Slant like he would a motorcycle. A brilliant observation. And wouldn't have been posted had you not started this thread , Valiant Bandit.

Hopefully at some point common sense will prevail and the people who wish to save us all from ourselves will realize passive restraints will never be enough to save the stupid from getting around even the most sophisticated technology.

Good for you for brining up the topic.
 
BTW, ValiantBandit: I was NOT accusing you of being a worrier, but suggesting thre ARE people out in the wild who would think that banning old. Cars from the roads as aa public safety measure would be a great idea.
 
An anvil can be dangerous if you're stupid enough. lol
 
I honestly feel that these newer safer cars with ABS and Stability control and TCS have directly caused the SEVERE lack of respect for driving and even to some extent the lack of ability to drive! While I am only 19 I have driven newer cars with TCS and ABS 90's cars with just abs an old ford pickup with nothing and my old dart. While I will say my 97 sebring will completly out handle the dart but on ice or snow I had just as much control without ABS as I did with it just by actually paying attention to how I was driving.
 
To me, it's akin to all this technology we got goin on. With cell phones that act as reminders and babysitters, we're using our minds less and less. Just like cars, we don't have to drive as "good" as we once did. At least that's my opinion.
 
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